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Caterpillar Inc. is a United States based corporation headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar (commonly referred to simply as CAT) is, according to their corporate website, "the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines."

Famous for their products featuring the caterpillar track-type tractor and the distinctive yellow paint scheme (which is a special pigment titled "Caterpillar Yellow", as featured on an episode of American Chopper), Caterpillar produces a wide range of heavy equipment, mainly engineering vehicles, including the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer.

Caterpillar is one of thirty companies whose stock is tracked in the . It is a Fortune 100 company ranked #1 in its industry, with more than $30 billion in assets.

History

Caterpillar was formed April 15, 1925 with the merger of Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California and the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company of San Leandro, California, forming the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Sales that first year hit just over 13 million dollars, by 1929 sales had climbed to 52.8 million, Cat continued to grow throughout the depression. The Holt Manufacturing Company had earlier pioneered the use of the caterpillar track during World War I.

The story of Caterpillar Inc. dates back to the late 19th century, when Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt experimented with ways to fulfill the promise that steam tractors held for farming. By 1904 these large steam powered tractors had been plowing California fields for 14 years, and occasionally got bogged down in the soft California soil, especially after heavy rains. These huge tractors were difficult to pull free, even with teams of horses, something had to be done. Benjamin Holt had an idea, why not carry the road with the vehicle? On November 24, 1904 he added wood block linked treads around the idlers on Holt No.77, his test tractor. The results were impressive, and the modern tractor was born. After the companies merged, Caterpillar went through many changes and at the end of World War II began growing at a rapid pace, launching its first venture outside the country in 1950, which marked the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a multinational corporation.

Caterpillar products range from track-type tractors to hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, agricultural tractors, diesel and natural gas engines and gas turbines. They are used in construction, road-building, mining, forestry, energy, transportation and material-handling industries.

Caterpillar products have made an impact on world history. Their crawler tractors inspired the first military tanks, which helped end World War I. Many of their machines helped build the Hoover Dam, tunnel under the English Channel, tumble the Berlin Wall and construct cities and neighborhoods across the United States.

Caterpillar was one of the "excellent" companies featured in the 1982 best-selling management book In Search of Excellence by business management guru Tom Peters.

Corporate Governance

Current Board of Directors

Sales

44% (current as of 1Q2006)of Caterpillar's sales are to overseas customers. Caterpillar products are sold in nearly 200 countries. The company has a worldwide network of 220 dealers: 63 dealers in the United States and 157 in other countries. Caterpillar products and components are manufactured in 42 plants in the United States and 58 plants in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, the People's Republic of China, Poland, Russia, South Africa and Sweden.

Employment

At the end of the second quarter, 2005, worldwide employment was 82,248, compared with 72,916 one year ago. The increase was primarily due to about 5,000 hourly labor additions to support higher volume, the conversion of about 2,000 supplemental employees to full-time employment, and approximately 900 employees from acquisitions. According to a 2001 article * in the Nashville Business Journal, 60% of Caterpillar's employees work outside the United States.

Controversies

Israeli use

Israel Defense Forces bulldozers are Caterpillar tractors (bulldozer, excavator and wheel loader) which were armored by Israeli industries and use for combat engineering applications. The most notable dozer is the Caterpillar D9, which used for counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, operation which often included the demolitions of buildings and clearance of shrubbery.

A coalition of groupsled by the Jewish Voice for Peace, has called for protests against the sales of Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel, citing the use of the equipment in the demolishing of the homes of Palestinian residents, the destruction of olive groves, and the death of American protestor Rachel Corrie while trying to obstruct such activities, and alleging that Caterpillar profits from the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier. Some Human Rights groups, such as Amnesty International also have criticized the Israeli usage of bulldozers. [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE150332004?open&of=ENG-ISR

JVP and a group of Presbyterian Churches raised a motion in Caterpillar's Annual Shareholders Conference to review and also cancel the sales of equipment to Israel. The motion was rejected 97% to 3%. Caterpillar maintains it has no right or means to monitor how its equipment is being used.

In February 2006, the General Synod of the Church of England voted overwhelmingly to divest its $2.2 million of stocks in Caterpillar Inc. as an ethical statement against the destruction of 4,000 Palestinian homes, the deliberate uprooting of 1,000,000 olive trees and the construction of the wall between Israel and the Palestinian West Bank.

Labor problems

Caterpillar almost went under in the early 1980s due to massive labor union strikes and a downturn in product demand. Several news reports of the time indicated that products were piling up so high in facilities that temporary workers hired to work the lines could barely make their way to their stations.

Caterpillar suffered another long strike in the 1990s, in which the company hired what it termed "permanent replacements" for striking union workers.

In both strikes, jack rocks were placed in the home driveways of many Caterpillar executives and employees, puncturing tires of vehicles and further worsening relations between company heads and laborers.

Not long after the 1990s strike ended and the economy started to pick up again, Caterpillar adopted the "6 Sigma" quality management program, so as to reduce costs and inventory, and identify and correct defects in the company's processes and products.

Environment

Caterpillar has been under fire by many environmental groups. Products produced by the company include tree logging trucks, strip and under-ground mining equipment, and of course, diesel engines. In 2005, Caterpillar donated millions of dollars to environmental groups in South America and Asia to protect and preserve forests and river systems. In 2004, the company came out with "ACERT" diesel engines that exceed federal guidelines for emission standards.

Caterpillar has for many years been a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2005, Cat expressed a strong commitment to sustainability, and is actively involved in many projects devoted to equitable, environmentally responsible business.

See also

Notable products

Caterpillar has a list of some 400 products for purchase through its dealer network. Of those, these are some of the more well known and notable:

  • Footwear (Work boots and shoes)
    • Alaska
    • Colorado

Cat is the world's largest manufacturer of high-speed diesel engines, large scale diesel engines, as well as being the world’s largest manufacturer of gaseous fueled engines. (Natural gas, methane, propane, etc., also referred to as spark ignited engines.) Cat is also involved in manufacturing large marine-grade diesel engines and solar turbines.

External links

Caterpillar | Fortune 1000 | S&P 500 | NASCAR sponsors

Caterpillar | Caterpillar | קטרפילר | キャタピラー社 | Caterpillar Inc. | Caterpillar

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Caterpillar Inc.".

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